For immediate release:
October 18, 2007 Contact:
Loren Dealy (HASC) 202-225-2539

Washington D.C.— Today, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the use and effectiveness of Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan. Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and Robert M. Perito, a Senior Program Officer of the U.S. Institute of Peace, provided testimony. In addition, the hearing featured the release of a final report on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) by SIGIR.

Chairman Vic Snyder (D-AR) and Ranking Member Todd Akin (R-MO) released the following statement:

“The new SIGIR report shows the need for putting effective tools in place to objectively determine whether PRTs are fulfilling their missions. Five years after the initial PRTs were established in Afghanistan, and more than two years after they began in Iraq, their progress is still measured through ad hoc observations and anecdotal evidence. The current evaluation process does not measure up to the importance of this mission.

“Provincial Reconstruction Teams are expected to play an essential role in bringing better government and development to these countries at the local level. We must do everything possible to ensure these resources are not wasted.

“We believe that the Departments of State, Defense, and others involved in the PRT mission must work together with a sense of urgency to craft strategic objectives and performance measures, so that Congress and the American people can have a clear view of what kind of progress is actually being made.”

Reports from the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq can be found at www.sigir.mil

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